JPS6333047B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a microwave oven-ventilation hood combination, in particular a microwave oven adapted to be placed in the space above an electric or gas range or cooking surface normally occupied only by a ventilation hood. Regarding ventilation hood combinations.

In most modern kitchens, the primary cooking appliance is an electric or gas range. A range usually has a plurality of electric or gas cooking units on a horizontal surface on which containers of food are placed during cooking.
A ventilation or exhaust hood is normally provided directly above the cooking surface to exhaust odors and smoke caused by cooking. This ventilation or exhaust hood is usually supported in the middle of the ceiling cabinet and is usually of standard dimensions.

In recent years, the demand for kitchen microwave ovens (also referred to as "microwave ovens") has increased as a supplement to electric or gas ovens. As a result of these demands, so-called countertop microwave ovens have been developed and are now widely used.
However, this type of oven requires use of the already limited countertop space in a typical home kitchen. This shortcoming is one of the factors slowing down the growth of the countertop microwave oven market.
This is the reason why housewives are reluctant to purchase additional microwave ovens.

The above-mentioned disadvantages are substantially overcome by providing a novel microwave oven-ventilation hood combination that utilizes the space above the kitchen range normally occupied only by the fume hood. The present invention provides a combination that is particularly simple and easy to install by one person.

In particular, it is desirable that kitchen appliances be easily installed by one person. Heavy equipment that requires two people to transport and install significantly increases the final cost of the equipment to the purchaser. For equipment that must be wall-mounted or suspended below a cabinet or other support, one person may physically hold the equipment in place while another person inserts the mounting bolts or securing devices. The problem is that it is necessary.

One of the most common methods of attaching a device to a wall is to use bolts or screws that pass through the device and into the wall or support structure. However, if the instrument is heavy, one worker is forced to lift the instrument with one hand and hold it in place while using the other hand to insert the screw and turn it with a screwdriver to secure the instrument. In addition to the difficulty of this task, it often results in misplacement of the instrument relative to the surrounding support member, or worse, insecure attachment of the instrument. The gap between adjacent members becomes large and unsightly. The heavier the instrument, the more serious the problem becomes because the time required to properly turn a screw or properly insert a bolt is longer than the operator can physically support the heavy instrument. Sometimes, poor installation work can result in the instrument being installed at an angle, resulting in the instrument not working properly or operating inefficiently.

As is apparent from the above description, an instrument mounting system that can be installed by a single operator and that, due to the nature of the construction, ensures that the instrument is properly positioned during installation is highly desirable.

Next, the present invention will be explained in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a typical kitchen worktop arrangement in which a range 1 is placed between floor-standing cabinets 2 on either side. A plurality of heating units 3 are provided on the top surface of the microwave oven 1, and an upright splash guard 4 is provided on the rear side. In a typical example of equipment, exhaust hood 5
is located directly above the heating unit 3 and is fitted into a series of wall-mounted cabinets 6. The hood has a blower and suitable air ducts which cooperate with exhaust openings 7 and associated ducts (not shown) to direct the smelly air from the vicinity of the cooking unit to the exterior of the kitchen. Another configuration used when a duct leading to the outside is not available is
Air is passed from the cooking surface of the range through an odor particle removal filter and returned to the kitchen. This type of hood also has a built-in light source that illuminates the cooking surface.
In either case, the hood is placed directly above the range.

The present invention provides a microwave oven-exhaust system combination, designated generally at 9 in FIG. The microwave oven-exhaust device combination can be fitted in place of the hood 5 and thus not only performs the normal function of the hood 5 described above, but also acts as a microwave cooking appliance. This dual-function device has a structure that occupies approximately the same space as previously occupied by a single-function device, ie, a hood. In particular, the present invention is directed to a combination structure that can be easily installed by a single operator and that allows for rapid and accurate positioning of the structure in the installation location.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the support assembly and oven module of the present invention. The support assembly 11 includes a main support member 10 and a wall means or cover member 13 which together form an open-fronted enclosure into which the oven module 12 is inserted and supported. . The bottom of the enclosure is closed by a bottom shroud or plate 42.

The main support member 10 supports substantially the entire structure,
For this purpose, it is made of relatively thick metal. The main support member 10 includes a rear wall 14 that is brought into near-tight contact with a conventional wall plate 16 and a pair of integral instrument supporting side walls 18.
a, 18b included. Supporting side walls 18a, 18b extend forwardly from and generally perpendicular to rear wall 14. The distance between the separated side walls 18a and 18b is
It is selected to be slightly smaller than the width of the space occupied by the exhaust hood 5 in FIG. The outer or exterior surfaces of the rear wall and side walls are generally planar so as to present generally flat surfaces that abut the adjacent vertical walls.

Triangular openings or holes 6 are provided in the side walls 18a and 18b.
0 is provided to reduce the weight of the main support member 10 without substantially reducing the supporting capacity of the main support member 10,
Therefore, the purpose of reducing the cost of the member 10 is achieved. A rectangular opening 62 is provided in the side wall 14;
An exhaust passageway is formed along the back side of the assembly and out of the assembly. This opening 62 may be closed with a suitable cover piece (not shown) or placed in air communication with a range exhaust conduit for exhaust to the outside.

The rear wall 14 has a pair of raised walls or ribs 2 on its inner surface.
0 is provided to increase the strength and rigidity of the rear wall. The ribs 20 also serve the function of guiding exhaust air through the structure as described in Japanese Patent Application No. 54-105107 (Japanese Patent Application No. 55-49634).

A plurality of rows of holes 22 are drilled in the rear wall 14,
At least one lug screw 24 or other suitable threaded fastener is inserted into a selected one of these holes 22 to secure the assembly to the wallboard 16 and at least one wall support member or stud 26. Attach it. A pair of holes 28 are drilled in the upper left and right corners of the rear wall 14, into which suitable fasteners, e.g.
Insert the pair of toggle bolts 30 into the main support member 10.
can further be fixed to the wall board 16. By selecting the appropriate type and size of fasteners, we have determined that fixture loads of up to 90 kg can be safely supported on the standard wall panels and studs of most modern homes. In this regard, the microwave oven-exhaust system assembly to be installed in the present invention weighs approximately 45 kg, which is well below the upper limit of the safe support capacity of a single standard wall stud.

A pair of rails 52 are provided on the side walls 18a, 18b to support the oven module 12 when the oven module 12 is inserted into the support assembly.
is formed. To form the rail 52,
An elongate sheet metal member is punched out and bent inwardly, thereby obtaining an opening 54. The rail 52 extends across substantially the entire depth of the side walls 18a, 18b from the front to the rear. Each rail 52 (FIG. 5) has a horizontal central portion 53 which terminates in a downwardly directed lip 55.

Side walls 18a and 18b of main support member 10 are also provided with inwardly directed flanges 34;
4 has a plurality of slots 36 formed near the four corners of the member 10. These slots 36, in conjunction with similar holes 38 drilled in cover 13, are used to connect the support assembly to the overhang cabinet as described below.

The cover 13 is a generally inverted U-shaped member made of a relatively thin metal plate, and has an arm 72 extending vertically downward and away from a base or central portion 71 thereof. A set of apertures 38 are provided in the central portion 71 and these apertures 38 are connected to the main support member 1 described above.
0, and suitable fasteners such as screws 40 are inserted therein to secure the assembly including cover 13 and main support member 10 to the overhang cabinet (see Figure 4). . Arm 72 is provided with an inward flange 74 . These flanges 74 serve to hold the cover 13 in contact with the main support assembly when the cover 13 is placed over the main support member 10. Specifically, the cover 13 is first placed so as to cover the main support member 10, and the flange 74 is attached to the side walls 18a, 18.
The arm 72 spans the side walls 18a, 18b on the outside thereof, adjacent to the outside of a similar set of flanges 75 of b. Matching holes are provided (not shown) through which screws are inserted to secure the cover 13 to the main support member 10. Additional mating holes may be provided in the flange 78 of the cover 13 and in the rear wall 14 for the same purpose.

The outside or outer surface of the cover 13 is finished in a conventional manner to give the structure an attractive and pleasing appearance. When assembled, only the outer surface of the cover 13, the front surface of the oven module 12, and the bottom plate 42 are visible;
For this reason, we will finish them all appropriately.

The microwave oven module 12 is a unitary structure having a generally box-like appearance. module 1
The front-opening door 61 (shown in the closed position) of No. 2 is hinged on the left side and can be opened by a handle 68. A cooking space (not shown) is formed behind the door and has a substantially rectangular cross section. The oven module 12 is provided with a control panel 63,
This includes oven and hood functions (i.e., switches, temperature,
An operator control section for controlling the air blower, etc.) is provided. The oven module is also provided with a magnetron (not shown) that generates microwaves at a predetermined frequency and a waveguide that guides the microwaves into the cooking space. The structure for performing the basic operations of the oven is conventional, and its detailed explanation is omitted here as it is based on many conventional patent specifications.

The module 12 is formed from a metal plate body 64 in accordance with Japanese Patent Application No. 54-105108 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 55-49625). Regarding the manufacturing of the metal plate main body, since it is irrelevant to the gist of the present invention, the above-mentioned patent application specification will be referred to, and detailed explanation will be omitted. The sheet metal body 64 has side walls 65 that are bent upwardly and outwardly at the upper end to form two flanges or ledges 50 that run from front to rear across substantially the entire depth of the module. defining a pair of channels extending up to . Flange 50 is shown in greater detail in FIGS. 3 and 5 and consists of a horizontal portion 66 extending perpendicularly outwardly from side wall 65 and an integral downwardly extending lip 67. The channel defined by the flange 50 fits over the rail 52, thereby slidingly supporting the module 12 thereon.

The main support member 10 is provided with suitable means for supporting an exhaust fan assembly (FIG. 2), including a fan 81 located centrally on the member 10 and in air communication with the bottom plate 42. The fan assembly may be attached to support member 10 prior to insertion of module 12.

Bottom plate 42 closes the bottom wall of support assembly 11 . The bottom plate 42 is provided with a tab 46 along its rear edge, and the tab 46 is inserted into a slot 48 provided in the lower edge of the rear wall 14. The front edge of the bottom plate 42 is provided with an inwardly bent lip 47 which cooperates elastically with corresponding means at the lower front end of the module 12 to hold the front part of the bottom plate 42 in position. Hold.

The bottom plate 42 is provided with a suitable rectangular exhaust opening 44 in which an air intake filter is arranged. Air from above the heating unit of the range is drawn through this filter and passes through the combination structure along an air conduit jointly formed by module 12 and support assembly 11 and passes through opening 64 or the opening, depending on the selection at the time of installation. Go outside from one of 62. A description of the air flow path passing through the structure is given in Japanese Patent Application No. 105107/1983 (Japanese Patent Application No.
No. 49634).

The bottom plate 42 is also provided with a transparent panel 49, above which light emitting means (not shown) are arranged to illuminate the heating surface of the range. The bottom plate 42 can be pivoted to an open position 42', as shown in phantom in FIG.
The above-mentioned flanges 75 are provided near both ends of the bottom plate 42.
A plurality of holes (not shown) matching the holes 74 and 74 are provided.

A tab 57 is provided near the rearmost end of the rail 52 on the side walls 18a, 18b. This tab 57
extends vertically from above the rail 52 and terminates in a plane slightly above the plane occupied by the top surface of the rail 52. The space between the top surface of rail 52 and tab 57 defines a gap or slot 56 into which the trailing end of flange 50 is inserted when module 12 is fully inserted into the support assembly. enter. As is clear from Figures 3, 4 and 5,
Tabs 57 fit closely against the top surface of flange 50 to prevent tilting of module 12 and to prevent upward movement of module 12 within assembly 10 that may occur when an open oven door is loaded. The front end portion 58 of the rail 52 is connected to the vertical side wall 1
It tapers outwardly from 8a, 18b and rearwardly in the horizontal plane to facilitate the initial insertion of the flange 50 into the main support member 10. In this way, the oven 12 is connected to the rail 52.
To almost eliminate sluggishness and clogging of an oven 12 when starting to insert the oven 12 along the line.

The order of assembling the microwave oven-exhaust system combination is as follows. Support assembly 11
To complete this, cover 13, bottom plate 42 and main support member 10 are brought together to form a unitary structure. For this purpose, a cover 13 is placed over the main support member 10 and a flange 74 is attached to the flange 74 as described above.
5, and the top surface 71 of the cover is brought into contact with the flange 34.
the open top of the support member 10 is closed.
Screws (not shown) are then inserted into the previously described mating holes in flange 78 and back wall 14 to secure the flange and back wall together. Also screw the flanges 74, 75
Then, the bottom plate 42 is fixed to the cover 13 and the main support member 10 by inserting it into matching holes at both ends of the bottom plate 42 . The resulting structure is a substantially closed box-like support assembly or enclosure with an open front.

At this point, either opening 64 or 62 is closed with any suitable blinding plate. Depending on the exhaust conduit system of the particular installation, ie whether there is a rear exhaust opening 7 as shown in FIG. 1 or a top opening (not shown), the opening to be closed is selected.

The support assembly is then placed in the space between the cabinets above the cooking surface of the range. The relatively light weight of the support assembly allows one operator to easily handle the support assembly and attach the rack screws to the rear wall 14.
The assembly is secured in place by screwing into the wall stud through an appropriately selected hole 22 in the wall.

If mounting to wall studs or a vertical wall of sufficient strength is not possible, the support assembly can be secured to the floor 32 of the ceiling cabinet as shown in FIG. For this purpose, suitable fasteners are attached to the hole 38 of the cover 13 and the slot 36 of the support member 10.
from the cabinet side.

By using any of the above methods, a relatively lightweight and easy to handle support assembly is secured in position above the cooking surface. The microwave oven module 12 is then slid into the front opening of the support assembly. That is, by engaging the flange 50 onto the rail 52 as shown in FIG. 5 and pushing the module rearwardly into the support assembly, the flange 50
Pass the rear end to the bottom of the tab 57.

With the module 12 inserted into the support structure, a space is created between the surface 71 of the cover 13 and the top wall of the module 12. A special request was made in this space in 1974.
105107 (Japanese Patent Publication No. 55-49634), the air is circulated. An air passage grill 91 (FIG. 2) is provided at the mouth of this space. To install grille 91, fasteners are inserted through openings in the grille and corresponding flanges (not shown) on module 12 and into appropriately threaded openings in side walls 18a, 18b. In addition to giving an attractive appearance, this configuration
2 to the support assembly, the module can be held in its most rearward position.

As described above, the microwave oven appliance according to the present invention is constructed of a microwave oven module and a support assembly, so that it can be easily and easily installed on a kitchen wall etc. by one operator, and it can also be installed securely and easily. Proper positioning is possible. The support assembly includes a main support member and a cover member and defines an open front enclosure for the oven module. The cover member forming part of the enclosure gives the microwave oven appliance a visually pleasing appearance. The main support member provides main support for the oven module, its side walls directly support the oven module, and its rear wall is directly attached to a kitchen wall or the like. The oven module is slidably received within the enclosure by rails in the side walls of the main support member and is held against a kitchen wall or the like by the main support member.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the arrangement of cooking utensils in a home kitchen.
The conventional exhaust hood has been removed from its normal position to show the installation position of the combination of the present invention; FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the oven module-support assembly combination of the present invention; FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the combination of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 4 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the support assembly structure shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the sliding structure. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Range, 7... Exhaust opening, 9... Microwave oven-exhaust device combination, 10... Main support member,
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11...Support assembly, 12...Oven module, 13...Cover, 14...Rear wall, 18...Side wall, 2
0... Rib, 22, 28... Hole, 32... Ceiling cabinet floor, 34... Inward flange of side wall, 36... Slot, 38... Hole, 42... Bottom plate, 46... Tab, 48...
Slot hole in lower part of rear wall, 49... Transparent panel, 50... Channel forming flange, 52... Rail, 54... Opening, 56... Slot hole, 58... Rail front end portion, 60...
Hole in side wall, 71...Central part, 72...Arm.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A microwave oven appliance for mounting as a separate unit on a vertical wall at a location above a cooking unit in a household, comprising: a microwave oven module; a support assembly forming an enclosure with a front opening for insertion of the module, the support assembly being mountable directly to the vertical wall to provide primary support for the module; a support member directly supporting the module, the support member comprising a generally U-shaped member, the U-shaped member extending from the rear wall to directly support the module and supporting the front surface of the module; a side wall defining a portion of an opening; the support assembly further includes wall means supported by and in combination with the U-shaped member to form the enclosure; Cooperative support means in which the side wall of the member and the module cooperate with each other to slidably receive the module through the front opening and into the enclosure and to support the module within the enclosure. A microwave oven appliance comprising: 2. said cooperating support means comprises a rail provided on said side wall and a channel provided on said module cooperating with said rail, so that said module slides on said rail upon insertion of said module; 2. The microwave oven appliance according to claim 1, wherein the microwave oven is adapted to enter the opening. 3. Claim 1, wherein the wall means comprises a cover that can be attached to the outside of the support member so as to cover the support member, the outer surface of the cover being finished to have a normal appliance exterior finish.
Microwave oven equipment as described in Section 1. 4. The microwave oven appliance of claim 3, wherein the bottom of the enclosure is closed by a bottom plate, the bottom plate including an air permeable filter. 5. The microwave oven appliance of claim 4, wherein the bottom plate further includes a light-transmitting panel. 6. The microwave oven appliance of claim 4, wherein the rear wall of said support member includes means for attaching said member to said vertical wall. 7. The microwave oven appliance of claim 2, wherein the rear wall of said U-shaped member includes means for attaching said member to said vertical wall.